There may finally be some light at the end of the subway tunnel.
With the SEPTA strike about to enter its second week, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell inserted himself into yesterday's negotiations between the transit agency and its striking employees, providing new hope for a settlement.
The governor met separately with SEPTA and the union yesterday. Representatives from Rendell's office were also present during negotiations later in the day.
Negotiations began at about 2:30 p.m. and continued on and off throughout the afternoon and evening, Transport Workers Union Local 234 spokesman Bob Bedard said.
Bedard declined to comment on the progress of negotiations, but said, "It's always better to be talking than not talking."
SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said that he welcomed the governor's involvement.
Penn Political Science professor Henry Teune said that Rendell's entry into the negotiations could be key to reaching a settlement.
"The governor has ways of leveraging resources," Teune said, adding that Rendell has a number of incentives he could offer to the parties, including pushing certain pieces of legislation or allocating money from discretionary funds.
Transportation Engineering professor Vukan Vuchic agreed that Rendell's involvement improves the chances for a settlement.
He added that public pressure to bring the transit system back online is an important factor.
"As the strike goes on," Vuchic said, "both sides become more anxious to resolve it."
In a statement released Friday, Rendell said that he chose not to intervene immediately in hopes that SEPTA and the union could work the matter out themselves. With that looking more and more unlikely, he decided that the time had come to intervene.
Teune believes that this is political maneuvering, though, as he said that Rendell was trying to avoid ruffling Philadelphia's union interests.
"He's running for re-election," Teune said. "He also has to think about his interests."
In the press release, Rendell reiterated his position on health care for the union, a major sticking point in negotiations.
"It is only fair that everyone should copay for his or her health-care benefits," Rendell said, "and I believe a sliding scale, much like we have in state government, is appropriate."
Bedard said Friday that the union remained committed to achieving health coverage with no copayment for workers.
Rendell also expressed worry for the future of SEPTA.
"I am increasingly concerned that the longer this strike goes on, the more difficult it will be in the future to convince legislators of the need for funding mass transit," he said.
Though Philadelphia Mayor John Street was not directly involved in the negotiations, he spent five hours on Friday meeting with union representatives.
Maloney said that SEPTA has also been in constant contact with the mayor.
"It's about high time that he does something," Vuchic said. "I think that Street is beginning to notice that the city is suffering very seriously."
The mayor's office declined comment on Street's role in the negotiations.
Teune said that even if Street were to directly insert himself into the situation, he would not have the same influence as Rendell.
Street's "ways of leveraging are far less," he said, adding that as governor, Rendell has both a bigger budget and state discretionary funds at his disposal.
Teune said that like Rendell up until this point, Street has kept a low profile on the SEPTA issue due to fear of losing union support.
In any case, both politicians' involvement is considered a positive sign.
"They're two highly regarded elected officials," Maloney said. "We would certainly hope that they are able to add something to this."
